Category Archives: Faces of the Force

POSITION AND UNIT: Chief, Regional Contracting Office – Wiesbaden; 409th Contracting Support Brigade (CSB) – Europe TOTAL YEARS OF SERVICE: 5 AWARDS: 409th CSB Commander’s Award, Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award EDUCATION: MBA from Chaminade University of Honolulu; B.S. in business and management from the University of Maryland Contracting expert hopes to become a long-term expat By Susan L. Follett Don’t look for Laurie Hull stateside anytime soon. During overseas postings to Okinawa, Japan and Portugal’s Azores while her husband served in the Air Force, Hull acquired a love for living internationally, and she’s been able to leverage her expertise in defense contracting to satisfy her travel bug. After living overseas for […]

POSITION: Contracting Officer UNIT: 918th Contracting Battalion, Mission and Installation Contracting Command–Fort Carson TOTAL YEARS OF SERVICE: 32 (21 active duty and 11 civilian) AWARDS: Achievement Medal for Civilian Service; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation (6) EDUCATION: MBA, Regis University, B.S. in business management/business administration, Colorado State University Contracting role requires flexibility, capacity to manage change By Susan L. Follett Lisa Benjamin isn’t big on down time. Two weeks after she graduated from high school in 1982, she headed for Army basic training. She spent 21 years on active duty, and six months later she began working for the Army as a civilian—work she’s done for more than a decade. […]

POSITION: GPC Agency/Organization Program Coordinator UNIT: ACC-APG/Tenant Contracting Division TOTAL YEARS OF ARMY SERVICE: 26 (20 years on active duty, 6 years as a civilian) AWARDS: Commander’s Award for Civilian Service; Achievement Medal for Civilian Service EDUCATION: J.D., University of Baltimore; MBA, Oklahoma City University; B.S. in business administration, University of Louisville. Level III certified in contracting and Level II certified in program management Meal Ticket Becomes a Career Path By Susan L. Follett When Jim Bushnell joined the Army in 1984, his goal was fairly simple: to make sure he knew where his next meal was coming from. While the Army isn’t known for gourmet cooking, it is known […]

POSITION: Pentagon Liaison, Program Executive Office for Ammunition TOTAL YEARS OF SERVICE: 31 (3 years in the Marine Corps; 28 years as an Army civilian) AWARDS: Army Meritorious Civilian Service Award, Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (2), Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service (2), 2002 Award for Excellence in Ammunition Management (GS-14/15) EDUCATION: M.S. in management, Florida Institute of Technology; Certificate of Advanced Studies in public administration, Syracuse University; B.S. in criminal justice and B.A. in public administration, Truman State University Opening the Door to Opportunities By Susan L. Follett When opportunity knocks, you have to open the door. Some people, like Jim Risner, just go on out to the front porch and […]

POSITION: System Acquisition Manager for the Joint Assault Bridge UNIT: Product Manager Bridging, Project Manager Force Projection, Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support YEARS OF ARMY SERVICE: 5 as an Army civilian, 5 as an Army contractor and 31 with the Army Reserve AWARDS: Bronze Star (2), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal (6), Army Commendation Medal (9), Army Achievement Medal (2), Humanitarian Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Meritorious Unit Citation (2), Order of the Marechaussee; Distinguished Alumni Award, Western Michigan University […]

POSITION: Deputy Director, Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground. UNIT: Army Contracting Command TOTAL YEARS OF ARMY SERVICE: 29 AWARDS: Superior Civilian Service Award; Commander’s Award for Civilian Service; Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service EDUCATION: MBA, Loyola University; B.S. in business and marketing, Towson University Change in plans leads to 29-Year Career By Susan L. Follett “I had no intention of working for the government—I wanted to make money.” That’s what Steven Bryant told his father, an Army sergeant major who served 33 years, when his dad suggested he look for a job with the Army. “So, after I got my MBA, I went to work for a builder-developer […]

POSITION: Civilian Deputy Director UNIT: Army Contracting Command-Rock Island TOTAL YEARS OF ARMY SERVICE: 30 AWARDS: Commander’s Award for Civilian Service; Superior Civilian Service Award (2); Secretary of the Army Award for Excellence in Contracting – Outstanding Team Award EDUCATION: MBA, St. Ambrose University; B.A. in accounting, Augustana College LOGCAP work highlights workforce dedication By Susan L. Follett In her 30-year Army career, Amy Hayden has worked with what she calls “some very dedicated people.” But her work on one of the Army’s biggest logistics contracts showed her even greater levels of dedication—that’s pretty remarkable for someone who admits she “stumbled into” a career that a previous manager tried to […]

POSITION: Contracting Officer/Team Lead UNIT: Mission and Installation Contracting Command–Fort Bliss/919th Contingency Contracting Battalion TOTAL YEARS OF ARMY SERVICE: 9 AWARDS: Commander’s Award for Civilian Service EDUCATION: MBA and B.A. in marketing, University of Texas at El Paso From Latrines to Role Players: Contracting Requires Depth and Breadth By Susan L. Follett Melissa Garcia got her start in contracting by accident. “I responded to a request for resumes for an internship when I was in college, but I wasn’t really sure who I was submitting my resume to,” said Garcia, now contracting officer and team lead for the 919th Contingency Contracting Battalion in the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC). […]

POSITION: Supervisory Contract Specialist/Director UNIT: Mission and Installation Contracting Command TOTAL YEARS OF ARMY SERVICE: 36 AWARDS: Secretary of the Army Excellence in Contracting AbilityOne Award (2); Commander’s Award for Civilian Service; Outstanding Contracting Officer Award, ACA, Southern Region (2); NCMA Fellow Award; Achievement Medal for Civilian Service EDUCATION: B.S. in commerce (business administration), Bellarmine University ‘Army brat’ continues family history of service By Susan L. Follett Deborah Ault has spent nearly four decades in civilian service, working her way up from typing purchase requests to serving as the director of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Knox, earning a B.S. in business administration along the way. One […]

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